The Greatest Challenge: Accepting Ourselves
Enlightenment is more than being aware in the present moment. It is being content with all things in that moment — including yourself— which is the greatest challenge we face.
Let me tell you a story. Hashtag psychoanalysis.
There once was a girl who loved to run. She had two older brothers whom she idolized. She wanted to be just like them. A 5 and 7 year age gap kept her from doing many things the two of them did together, though she tried. She wanted to impress them so they’d accept her. She ran as fast as she could, she played the same sports, she listened to the same music, she tried to share their adventures. Try as she might, she never fit in with them. She always felt like an outsider; she always felt alone. Obviously, what she was wasn’t enough.
She began to believe that if she did certain things and acted in certain ways that she would be worthy in the eyes of others; that her accomplishments would earn admiration and respect, and she would never be alone and always be enough for anyone.
So she worked hard. And started achieving. And won the things she thought she sought.
But it wasn’t enough.
She was never satisfied with her efforts. She kept trying to outdo herself; to beat her own records, set higher goals, convinced she could do better. There was always something greater to strive for, something far more impressive and more challenging to conquer; some aspect of herself that needed perfecting. She was proud of being ambitious and motivated. It became her identity.
And she was never content in the present moment; always chasing the next one.
She knew the pace she was running was unsustainable; burnout inevitable. But she couldn’t stop. She was incapable of slowing down; it wasn’t in her nature, or what was expected of her, so she kept going.
Expectations never stopped, and eventually she began to isolate herself from others, preventing her from connecting with anyone. She had to accept herself as being enough, and give herself permission to be loved by others just for being herself.
We are conditioned to want more, do more, and be more from childhood. We compare ourselves to others. We set impossible standards.
You are perfect the way you are.
Each of us is precisely what we need to be at every moment in time. Our past memories and experiences make us exactly who we are supposed to be ... so why is it so hard to love and accept ourselves as being enough?
“One of the truths we most regularly forget is that if we are at war with ourselves, we can’t feel love and connection with our world.” -Psychologist and Meditation Teacher Tara Brach
We are so hard on ourselves. Life is simple; we complicate it. It’s been said that all it takes is a shift in mindset to understand that what you’ve sought after your entire life is something you already possess. Make the shift before life passes you by.
“The biggest and most complex obstacle you’ll ever have to overcome is your mind. If you can overcome that, you can overcome anything.” -Marc & Angel
Accepting yourself as being "enough" in the present moment is my definition of Enlightenment. Most of us spend our lives trying to reach it. We do whatever it takes to become what we seek. We run as fast as we can to get where we’re trying to go. Our greatest challenge is to realize we’re already there. -J
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